Meet Mandu Reid, the leader of The Women's Equality Party

I feel proud and humbled to be the leader of the Women’s Equality Party and the first ever black person to lead a national political party in the UK. It is an incredibly exciting time to be at the helm of this movement because our country is ready for change.

It won’t come as a surprise that I am a passionate feminist. For me, feminism is fundamentally about fairness, freedom and society fulfilling its potential. I believe that politics should be about these things too.

I joined the Women’s Equality Party because none of the other parties are nearly ambitious enough about gender equality. While they are squabbling amongst themselves, we are standing up for and amplifying the voices of women and everyone who feels the burn of inequality and discrimination.

Our party provides a much-needed antidote to the derelict state of politics in this country. In just four years we have grown a vibrant and dynamic movement that has provided political sanctuary for tens of thousands of people across Britain. Our power lies in showing up and speaking out. With the cards stacked against us, in a system designed to favour the status quo and fortify the old-world order, our creativity, commitment, and conviction has sown the seeds of transformation. For example, in the 2017 Liverpool Mayoral election our campaign resulted in Ending Violence Against Women and Girls taking centre stage and the elected Mayor developing a city-wide strategy that will improve the lives of thousands people, and our campaigns on universal free childcare resulted in the Labour Party making an improved childcare offer the centerpiece announcement at their last party conference. Every time we contest elections, not only do we change the conversation, but we force other parties to raise their game.

We have had a great beginning and the horizon promises to be even brighter. Under my leadership we will grow our membership, connect with an even wider range of people and communities and increase our impact. I will develop a response to the national conversation on gangs, serious youth violence and knife crime. This will acknowledge and address the gender dynamics that shape the causes of, and solutions to, these problems. We will gear up to contest elections up and down the country and win our first seats and we will lead campaigns that push the other parties to do better.

Let’s make this happen together. With your support, ideas and energy we can reclaim British politics.

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